Latest news with #EdHutchinson
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
H5N1 bird flu ‘capable of airborne transmission'
H5N1 bird flu is capable of spreading through the air, a new animal study from the US Centres for Disease Control (CDC) has found. H5N1 was believed to spread primarily through direct contact with infected animals or their bodily fluids, but the new findings suggest it can also be transmitted through respiratory droplets and aerosol, raising concerns about its ability to cause a future pandemic. The study, published in Emerging Infectious Diseases, was based on a sample of H5N1 extracted from a dairy worker in Michigan who contracted the virus last year. The CDC scientists then used this sample to infect a group of ferrets, which are considered a 'gold standard' in flu research due to the similarity between their respiratory system and that of human. The infected animals were placed in close proximity to six other healthy ferrets and observed for three weeks. Within 21 days, three of the previously uninfected ferrets had contracted H5N1 – without any direct physical contact – indicating that the virus can travel through the air through a 'respiratory droplet transmission model'. The researchers also collected aerosol samples from the air surrounding the ferrets, and found infectious virus and viral RNA to be present, indicating that H5N1 can, like Covid-19, be transmitted through both respiratory droplets and aerosols – smaller particles that can travel longer distances and remain suspended in the air for extended periods. Respiratory droplets, on the other hand, are larger and do not travel as far in the air, requiring closer contact with an infected person for transmission. Since 2024, at least 70 people in the US have been infected with H5N1, the majority of them workers on poultry or dairy farms where the virus was present. Bird flu has spread to more than 1,000 dairy farms across the country over the past year and is now endemic among US cattle. 'This study is important as it provides yet more evidence that the H5N1 influenza virus that is circulating in dairy cattle in the USA is, in principle, capable of respiratory transmission,' Prof Ed Hutchinson, Professor of Molecular and Cellular Virology, MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research told The Telegraph. '[The study] does this using experimental animals that experience and transmit influenza in similar ways to humans, so it warns us of what the virus could do in humans under the right circumstances,' Prof Hutchinson added. The study's authors warned that their findings underline the 'ongoing threat to public health' H5N1 poses, emphasising the need for 'continual surveillance and risk assessment… to prepare for the next influenza pandemic'. Most human cases reported in the US so far have resulted from direct physical contact with sick animals or their fluids, including cow's milk. But experts have warned that, as H5N1 continues to infect animal populations and 'jump' to humans, it is only a matter of time before the virus undergoes the mutations necessary to spread effectively from person to person. 'Because avian H5N1 viruses cross the species barrier and adapt to dairy cattle, each associated human infection presents further opportunity for mammal adaptation,' the study's authors said. Protect yourself and your family by learning more about Global Health Security Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Plan for phase two of cyber park near GCHQ revealed
The second stage of a cyber security centre planned near GCHQ has been unveiled. The Golden Valley development aims to confirm Cheltenham as the UK's cyber capital. Property developer HBD and Cheltenham Borough Council unveiled the project's second phase, including the launch of the newly named "I/O Buildings", at a CyberUK conference event held earlier this month. Councillor Rowena Hay, leader at Cheltenham Borough Council, said the CyberUK event offered the "perfect opportunity" to showcase phase two of the project. The first phase of construction is the cyber park itself, which includes 1 million sq ft (93,000 sq metres) of commercial space, a car park and bus stops for services to Cheltenham Spa railway station. Work could begin by October if Cheltenham Borough Council approves two key applications, which include feedback from public consultations, this summer. The two I/O Buildings (INPUT and OUTPUT) are a key element within the second phase of Golden Valley and will provide space for leaders and innovators to work together, the Local Democracy Service reports. More news stories for Gloucestershire Listen to the latest news for Gloucestershire INPUT is intended to foster collaboration between education, business and government, focusing on academia, skills and talent. OUTPUT will seek to bring together industry peers to shape the future of technology. The building will create space for quiet focus and provide state-of-the-art facilities for business. Ed Hutchinson, managing director of HBD, said: "Work is due to begin on site later this year so it's great to be able to share new CGIs of the scheme, including the I/O Buildings within phase two, and bring the development to life." Cabinet Office Minister Pat McFadden included Golden Valley within his keynote address at the CyberUK conference. "We're already making some big investments, like the billion pounds going into the new state-of-the-art Golden Valley campus near GCHQ's Cheltenham office. "That site alone is expected to create 12,000 jobs and be home to hospitality, retail businesses and 3,700 new homes. It's all growth." Follow BBC Gloucestershire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630. How will a £1bn cyber park affect locals? Cyber development to receive £20m from government Cheltenham Borough Council CyberUK HBD
